Pope Innocent III: Reprimand of Papal Legate From Ahilya Willis
At the time of this letter from Pope Innocent III to Peter, Cardinal Priest of the Title of St. Marcellus, Legate of the Apostolic See, the crusaders changed their sights towards attacking Constantinople in hopes of getting the aid they needed to be able to take back the Holy Land. The main problem that Pope Innocent III had with attacking Constantinople was that the crusaders would be attacking fellow Christians, and leaving the Holy Land unprotected from pillaging and destruction of the churches. Pope Innocent III was much more concerned with the desertion of the Holy Land.
In the beginning of this letter, Pope Innocent III fiercely stated his opinion to Peter for sailing away to Greece. Running away to Greece left the Holy Land without the protective help it so needed.
When you had deserted it, the Holy Land remained destitute of men, void of strength. Because of you, its last state was worse than the first, for all its friends deserted with you; nor was there any admirer to console it. (Brundage 1962)[1]
It clearly shows here that the feelings of protection of the Holy Land were at the forefront of the Pope’s mind. It is the first thing discussed in his letter to Peter. Pope Innocent III also showed feelings of sadness in his belief of the Holy Land. The mere statement that no one was even there to console it showed sorrow and grief at that time.
Pope Innocent III is also angry at the fact that Peter abandoned his duties; not only to God, but the land which was promised to the Christians by God.
We ourselves were a little agitated and, with reason, we acted against you, since you had fallen in with this counsel and because you had deserted the Land which the Lord consecrated by his presence, the land in which our King marvelously performed the mystery of our redemption… It was your duty to attend to the business of your legation and to give careful consideration, not to the capture of the Empire of Constantinople, but rather to the defence of what is left of the Holy Land and, with the Lord’s leave, the restoration of what has been lost. (Brundage 1962)[2]
Pope Innocent III seems mostly angry with the treatment of the Christian people and the destruction of the churches. The reason for changing the Crusade path from the Holy Land to Constantinople was not understood by Pope Innocent III. If he did understand, he would have still been against the endeavor with the sole reason being that: turning away and leaving the Holy Land unprotected, was to turn your back on God and all that He had promised.
As for those who were supposed to be seeking the ends of Jesus Christ, not their own ends, whose swords, which they were supposed to use against the pagans, are now dripping with Christian blood. They have spared neither age nor sex…Not satisfied with breaking open the imperial treasury and plundering the goods of princes and lesser men, they also laid their hands of the treasures of the churches and, what is more serious, on their very possessions. (Brundage 1962)[3]
These arguments made to Peter by Pope Innocent III serve to show that when it came to these crusades, Pope Innocent III was much more concerned with the protection of the Holy Land, the Christian people, and the churches.
Letter 136: Reprimand of Papal Legate From Frederick Leighton
This primary source is prefaced with some preliminary background information to give the reader insight into the text. It is as follows; “Pope Innocent III was furious at the conquest of Constantinople. He wrote the following letter in anger to the papal legate. Despite these bitter words, there was little that the Pope could do to alter what had happened and so, as his initial anger subsided, Innocent first recognized and then embraced the new order in Constantinople.”[4]
Pope Innocent III was angry because the crusades were leaving the holy land of Jerusalem. In turn, they had made an effort to try their luck in Constantinople. He was upset that more effort was not put into Jerusalem. He felt that more could have been done to motivate the people of Europe to join the crusade in Jerusalem. He blamed the religious hierarchy for deserting their efforts in the holy land, claiming that in Greece, all they had accomplished were riots. In his view, Jerusalem had been abandoned, leaving it worse off than when they had arrived. The Pope had also recently learned that the crusaders had been absolved of their pilgrimage vows and crusading obligations. He wonders who gave the right to deliver such absolution unto the crusaders. He asks; “Whoever suggested such a thing to you and how did they ever lead your mind astray?”
Innocent III then proceeds to badmouth his religious affiliates, finding countless ways to basically call them morons. He states that they had led the people away from god by bringing them away from the holy land. Though, as stated previously, he soon came to accept the move towards Constantinople and later embrace it. Perhaps he just needed to let off a bit of steam.
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History//, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III: Reprimand of Papal LegateFrom Ahilya Willis
At the time of this letter from Pope Innocent III to Peter, Cardinal Priest of the Title of St. Marcellus, Legate of the Apostolic See, the crusaders changed their sights towards attacking Constantinople in hopes of getting the aid they needed to be able to take back the Holy Land. The main problem that Pope Innocent III had with attacking Constantinople was that the crusaders would be attacking fellow Christians, and leaving the Holy Land unprotected from pillaging and destruction of the churches. Pope Innocent III was much more concerned with the desertion of the Holy Land.
In the beginning of this letter, Pope Innocent III fiercely stated his opinion to Peter for sailing away to Greece. Running away to Greece left the Holy Land without the protective help it so needed.
When you had deserted it, the Holy Land remained destitute of men, void of strength. Because of you, its last state was worse than the first, for all its friends deserted with you; nor was there any admirer to console it. (Brundage 1962)[1]
It clearly shows here that the feelings of protection of the Holy Land were at the forefront of the Pope’s mind. It is the first thing discussed in his letter to Peter. Pope Innocent III also showed feelings of sadness in his belief of the Holy Land. The mere statement that no one was even there to console it showed sorrow and grief at that time.
Pope Innocent III is also angry at the fact that Peter abandoned his duties; not only to God, but the land which was promised to the Christians by God.
We ourselves were a little agitated and, with reason, we acted against you, since you had fallen in with this counsel and because you had deserted the Land which the Lord consecrated by his presence, the land in which our King marvelously performed the mystery of our redemption… It was your duty to attend to the business of your legation and to give careful consideration, not to the capture of the Empire of Constantinople, but rather to the defence of what is left of the Holy Land and, with the Lord’s leave, the restoration of what has been lost. (Brundage 1962)[2]
Pope Innocent III seems mostly angry with the treatment of the Christian people and the destruction of the churches. The reason for changing the Crusade path from the Holy Land to Constantinople was not understood by Pope Innocent III. If he did understand, he would have still been against the endeavor with the sole reason being that: turning away and leaving the Holy Land unprotected, was to turn your back on God and all that He had promised.
As for those who were supposed to be seeking the ends of Jesus Christ, not their own ends, whose swords, which they were supposed to use against the pagans, are now dripping with Christian blood. They have spared neither age nor sex…Not satisfied with breaking open the imperial treasury and plundering the goods of princes and lesser men, they also laid their hands of the treasures of the churches and, what is more serious, on their very possessions. (Brundage 1962)[3]
These arguments made to Peter by Pope Innocent III serve to show that when it came to these crusades, Pope Innocent III was much more concerned with the protection of the Holy Land, the Christian people, and the churches.
Letter 136: Reprimand of Papal Legate
From Frederick Leighton
This primary source is prefaced with some preliminary background information to give the reader insight into the text. It is as follows;
“Pope Innocent III was furious at the conquest of Constantinople. He wrote the following letter in anger to the papal legate. Despite these bitter words, there was little that the Pope could do to alter what had happened and so, as his initial anger subsided, Innocent first recognized and then embraced the new order in Constantinople.”[4]
Pope Innocent III was angry because the crusades were leaving the holy land of Jerusalem. In turn, they had made an effort to try their luck in Constantinople. He was upset that more effort was not put into Jerusalem. He felt that more could have been done to motivate the people of Europe to join the crusade in Jerusalem. He blamed the religious hierarchy for deserting their efforts in the holy land, claiming that in Greece, all they had accomplished were riots. In his view, Jerusalem had been abandoned, leaving it worse off than when they had arrived. The Pope had also recently learned that the crusaders had been absolved of their pilgrimage vows and crusading obligations. He wonders who gave the right to deliver such absolution unto the crusaders. He asks; “Whoever suggested such a thing to you and how did they ever lead your mind astray?”
Innocent III then proceeds to badmouth his religious affiliates, finding countless ways to basically call them morons. He states that they had led the people away from god by bringing them away from the holy land. Though, as stated previously, he soon came to accept the move towards Constantinople and later embrace it. Perhaps he just needed to let off a bit of steam.
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History//, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09
Pope Innocent III, Ep 136, Patrologia Latina 215, 669-702, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1962), 208-09